Myisha Hines-Allen Named ACC Player of the Year

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 2, 2016

Myisha Hines-Allen quickly grew into one of the toughest matchups in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year, and her game often was labeled by local and national media as dominating.

The sophomore on Wednesday joined elite company, as she was named the ACC Player of the Year by the Blue Ribbon Panel, comprised of the league’s sports information directors and media members. Hines-Allen positioned herself alongside Angel McCoughtry (2006-07) as the only two players in school history to earn player of the year accolades.

The Montclair, N.J., native, Hines-Allen was voted ACC Player of the Week three times during the season, including winning the final two awards. On Monday, she was selected to the Blue Ribbon Panel all-ACC first team.

Though she wasn’t selected for any major preseason accolades, Hines-Allen’s game grew from an impressive freshman season into one of the best sophomore campaigns.

Hines-Allen paced the Cardinals in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (8.1) and connected on 53.7 percent of her shots. She compiled nine double-doubles this year, five in league play, and reached the 20-point plateau on nine occasions.

By the year’s end, she climbed the conference’s statistical rankings and is in the top 15 in multiple ACC categories: fourth in scoring, third in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage, ninth in free throw percentage (.771), fourth in defensive rebounds (5.2), and seventh in offensive rebounds (2.9).

A season that started slow for both the Cardinals and Hines-Allen spiraled into one that gained national attention.

The 6-foot-2 forward logged consecutive double-doubles during nonconference play, the first Cardinals’ player to do so since 2013, and then helped direct Louisville to the second-longest winning streak in school history at 15 games. In that stretch, she averaged 16.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 8.1 rebounds.

Hines-Allen continued that momentum into league play, where she produced 18.0 points and 8.1 rebounds – both the second-best marks in ACC-only contests – along with 1.0 blocks and connected on 52.8 percent of her shots and 77.2 percent of her free throws.

No. 7 Louisville (24-6) earned the No. 2 seed at this week’s ACC Tournament, where the Cardinals begin play on Friday in Greensboro, N.C., at 6 p.m. Louisville has won 21 of last 22 games and secured the second-most league wins in school history with 15.